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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23263918">Of boardwalks, wet sands and past memories</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dri_br/pseuds/dri_br'>dri_br</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Protective Siblings, Sibling Bonding, post 3x11, yeah because of that scene</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:40:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,382</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23263918</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dri_br/pseuds/dri_br</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A sunny, spring day on the beach to bond, talk about love and overcome fears.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Maddie Buckley, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>204</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Of boardwalks, wet sands and past memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I was in Malibu a couple of summers ago, on vacation. Beautiful place, beautiful beaches, beautiful people. However, to define it in one word: expensive!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It would be her second spring in LA, and Maddie still longed for days when the sun and wind wouldn't go together. She had had enough of that while living in Pennsylvania, thank you very much.</p><p>Spring was imminent, warmish and sunny. The kind of pleasant day that lured people outside to enjoy the blue sky and the salty, soft breeze billowing loose threads of her hair and tickling the tip of her nose as she and Evan walked along the pier after having lunch at Malibu Farm. A bit too posh for their pockets and the life they had in LA, but sometimes it was good to be able to splurge a little in the name of the good, old, <em>wealthy</em> days as trust fund kids using their parents’ emergency credit card in Pennsylvania.  </p><p>Today there was the pier, Evan, the water, and their celebratory, pricey lunch. His first time back on the beach, since the tsunami. The best of reasons, justified. Their dad would welcome the bill.</p><p>“You think dad would mind if I used his credit card again to buy us some ice cream?” Evan asked with a sunny, smiling voice as he bumped his elbow against her shoulder.</p><p>Maddie snorted and bumped her shoulder against the side of his upper arm. It was as far as she would reach with her feet comfortably encased in white, flat Keds. “I’m sure he is going to love having his grownup kids wasting his hard-earned retirement money in way too expensive and fancy lunch and ice cream.”</p><p>“Worth a shot. He and mom seemed happy enough with the picture we sent them,” he said referring to the selfie he had taken of the two of them while they waited for their table and that their mother had replied to with a big, beating heart.</p><p>There had been a slight shiver as Evan stretched his long arm towards the sun to capture the two of them leaning against the woody railing bordering the blue, calm waters of the Pacific Ocean. Maddie had offered her support against the water background by leaning on her brother’s side with a smile, squinting her eyes behind her sunglasses.</p><p>“They probably would,” she said. “But it still feels weird.”</p><p>Evan shrugged like it was no big deal because it really wasn't; their parents could afford way more than their little celebration made of some expensive meal, ice cream and of Evan facing with his head held high the waters in Malibu.</p><p>If things hadn’t changed – and Maddie doubted they had, even in her absence – Evan’s emergency card would expire in two years, when he turned thirty and got the second third of his trust fund, as it had happened to her. Their parents couldn’t be there for them all the time, both retired and living on the other side of the country, so they made up for their distance with all the money they could spare.</p><p>It wasn’t too much, but Maddie was thankful for their parent’s insight: that was the money that had helped her start her new life in LA after running away from her abusive past, from Doug. Now it was doing the same for Evan, except that, instead of putting a barrier between her brother and the water, it had Evan walking beside her and surrounded by it.</p><p>"So ice cream?" Even asked, bringing her back to the present and the hardness of concrete as they reached the sidewalk.</p><p>“You can’t still be hungry!”</p><p>“You don’t have to be hungry to eat ice cream.”</p><p>“I’m stuffed full. Can we at least take a walk along the beach so I can make room in my stomach?”</p><p>It was a fun invitation and at the same time, it was loaded with the encouragement she knew her brother needed. He had invited her here for a reason, something she didn't question, and that she let him take his time to tell her if he so wished.</p><p>Evan watched the ocean rolling in gentle waves in an almost hypnotic rhythm. He could say no if he wanted to, and she would be fine and respect his limits. But that was her baby brother, and if there was one thing he could respect, but had no fear of testing and surpassing was his limits.</p><p>“Yes, ma’am,” he finally said, gently steering her towards the beach.</p><p>They took off their shoes, and Evan rolled up the hen of his pants before offering her his hand to help her walk down the bank of sand leading them to the ocean.</p><p>Save for some tourists, the beach was almost empty – it was Thursday, after all, and they both had the day off. Maddie had made plans to clean up her apartment and read a book while she waited to have dinner with Chim after he finished his shift at the station. Yet, she couldn’t resist saying yes to Evan when he called her a little before lunchtime saying he would be at her doorstep in twenty minutes, barely giving her time to take a shower and get ready.</p><p>Maddie didn’t regret agreeing to come with him. Despite their age gap, she had always enjoyed his company. As a kid, as soon as he had learned the function of his legs, he had followed her everywhere, first by crawling, later by toddling his way around the house after her. In the beginning, it was annoying; time, however, taught her to appreciate and to love the adoration he devoted to her.</p><p>She had wasted three years of her life hiding from Evan and from their parents, too ashamed to admit they had been right all along about Doug. More, if she considered the distance she had kept from them during her marriage. Evan, however, took her back with open arms, few questions, and zero judgment. She wished she could say the same about their parents, but the hurt had cut deeper in them, and it took them more time to find themselves in a better place, but they were making it, little by little.</p><p>Her biggest regret, however, was Evan. Sometimes it felt like they had spent so little time together. With ten years between the two of them, Evan came at a time when she had given up on having a little sibling, someone to play with.</p><p>Growing up a Buckley hadn’t been bad. A little solitary at times, having parents with demanding jobs, but she had her friends and a good childhood. Evan, however, made things better, brighter and sweeter all at once. Maddie had loved the kid from the minute she saw that crying, pinkish bundle in her mother’s arms in the hospital. She had been too young to understand her mission in life then, but now, as an adult, there was nothing she wouldn’t do to protect her brother and make sure he was happy.</p><p>“Why have you gotten so quiet?” Evan asked, once again bringing her back to the present.</p><p>They had gotten closer to the water. It was her between Evan and the ocean, with their feet and the hen of her flowy dress getting dump every time the smooth waves died on the shore, on the tip of their toes.</p><p>“Just thinking,” she said smiling at him. “I’ve been more times to the beach with you since we reunited than when we were growing up.”</p><p>"Bit hard to go to the beach while living in Pennsylvania." Evan threw an arm around her shoulder and laughed. "Besides, you were almost a grown-up when I was born."</p><p>Maddie elbowed him on the stomach, just for fun. “Don’t I know it. But good, big sister that I was, I used to take you everywhere.”</p><p>Evan hummed and squeezed her shoulders. “I remember mom threatening you with taking away your car keys if you didn’t take me to places with you.”</p><p>“Just happened once, and you crashed my date with Jimmy Walker that day.”</p><p>“I don’t remember him.”</p><p>“We took you to watch Antz, I think… No, A Bug’s Life!”</p><p>“Oh, yeah! I remember now. He paid for my popcorn and let me have a soda. I liked that dude.”</p><p>She smiled. “He liked you too. He had always wanted a baby brother and you fit the bill.”</p><p>“Of course I did. I was adorable!” Evan laughed. “Hey, he had a dog, didn’t he?”</p><p>“Yeah, a golden retriever I wanted to trade you for.”</p><p>“Ouch, Maddie! That hurt!” he said, dropping his arm from her shoulders.</p><p>“I kept you. Stop complaining.”</p><p>They walked in companionable silence for a while, only broken by the swashing of the ocean moving back and forth. The tide had grown a bit wider, enough to cover their feet in wetness and cold. At first, Evan had hesitated in his steps, but then she moved closer to him and let the sleeves of their denim jackets brush, reminding him she wouldn’t let him drown. The waves wouldn’t have him, not with her by his side.</p><p>“Thanks for coming with me,” he said quietly after a while. “Eddie called this morning. Chris had asked before, and now he thinks it’s time to take the kid back to the beach after… you know what.”</p><p>“You don’t have to thank me, Evan, I’m glad you called,”</p><p>“I had to make sure I was ready to be there for them.”</p><p>“Are you?” she asked softly. “Because you have to take care of yourself, too.”</p><p>“It’s easy to be strong with you by my side,” he said, smiling down at her, hands deep in his pockets. "And I wanted you here with me."</p><p>She hooked her arm around his waist and squeezed him closer to her. “You will be strong for them, too, Evan. Eddie wouldn’t have invited you along if he didn’t believe you were ready to be there for him and his kid.”</p><p>He gave her a tentative smile. “You think so?”</p><p>“Of course. It will be good for you too.” She squeezed his waist again and let him go. “So, you and Eddie…”</p><p>“I <em>told</em> you about me and Eddie." Maddie was sure he was rolling his eyes behind the dark lenses of his Ray-Ban</p><p>“Yeah, you did. Or better yet, I called you on your crush on him.” She ignored his groan and kept going. “I just didn’t know you were on the <em>I’m not really a guest at Eddie’s</em> stage of your relationship just yet," she completed in a poor personification of his deep voice.</p><p>“You think we’re moving too fast? We’ve been seeing each other since New Year’s Eve.”</p><p>“I will think nothing of it as long as you’re happy and fine with this whole thing.”</p><p>“I am happy and fine with our situation.” Then, just like he did when they were talking about something important and that mattered he hesitated and confessed softly to her, “He asked me if I wanted to make us something exclusive.”</p><p>“Why? Weren‘t you? I mean, exclusive?”</p><p>“Yeah, of course. With our jobs, we barely have time to see each other, let alone other people on the side. I guess he freaked out when I showed up at the party with the cookies. I blame it on you.”</p><p>“On me? How come?”</p><p>“Who guilted me into taking something to the party?” He laughed as she slapped his arm. “He told me only guests were supposed to bring stuff for a dinner party. Boyfriends should just stay over and help with the rest of the food preparation when they were hosting a get together with their significant other. As if he had cooked anything.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Don’t ask me, okay? Took me a while to understand what he was saying.”</p><p>She laughed and hooked her arm with his. "Kind of a clumsy way to ask you to be his valentine."</p><p>“Ain’t it awesome?” He laughed with her, then he paused again before starting again with a soft voice as if he couldn't believe what he was saying. “We’re making it official to Chris when we take him to the beach next week.”</p><p>“You mean he doesn’t know?”</p><p>“I think he does. I mean, he sees us together all the time. I am there when he goes to bed and sometimes when he wakes up, too. The guest room is right next door to his, and he was the one to tell me I’m too big to sleep on the sofa, that I should sleep with his dad.”</p><p>“Okay, you are my baby brother. I really don’t need to know how acquainted you are with Eddie’s bed.”</p><p>“He’s kind of acquainted with mine too.”</p><p>“Evan, just don’t.”</p><p>A few steps ahead, they crossed paths with a couple of seagulls threading their way along the wet sand, towards the ocean. Evan stopped and looked at her. Maddie smiled softly at him and waited for him to be ready.</p><p>Slowly he started following the birds, tracing their steps, with their feet dipping further into the water as the ocean grew larger and more beautiful before their eyes.</p><p>“I can’t go any further. My dress,” she said, squeezing his arm. “But go ahead. I’ll be waiting for you.”</p><p>He looked ahead, thinking and considering, and then he took one step forth.</p><p>And another.</p><p>And another.</p><p>Maddie held her breath as she waited.</p><p>He stopped when the water reached the rolled-up hen of his jeans. Then he bent his knee and let his fingertips touch the water, head held high, eyes on the horizon, right on her line of vision if he needed her.</p><p>He didn’t.</p><p>And when he was ready, he turned his body back to her, tall and strong, but didn’t leave the water. And he was smiling.</p><p>“How about that ice cream?” he called out to her.</p><p>She laughed, and something warm and sweet twisted inside of her, in the corner that had his name on it, her baby brother. So grown-up, but forever her baby brother.</p><p>“Lead the way. And you’re paying.”</p><p>“Dad is.”</p><p>They turned around and made their way back to where they had come from, Evan along the water, and Maddie watching out for him, covering the large footsteps he had left in the sand with her smaller and yet no less unflappable ones, her eyes on him.</p><p>Always.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Since Maddie came into the picture, I've been fascinated by her relationship with Buck. It's always a delight to see them together, and I wish we would get more scenes exploring their lives before they reunited. And then there's this one thing the producers keep me guessing: how can they afford the lives they have in LA? Buck's Jeep, his loft, Maddie's apartment, their clothes. The list is pretty long! Although this fic is not about their finances, I explored it a little bit. Just like always, I hope it made sense.<br/>Thank you so much for taking the time to read it.<br/>And please, stay safe and don't leave your homes.<br/>Much love!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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